


Of Coffee And Skirts

by Carrot_Bunny



Series: MakoHaru Festival 2015 [18]
Category: Free!
Genre: Crossdressing, Fluff, M/M, Working in a maid cafe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 03:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3472421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carrot_Bunny/pseuds/Carrot_Bunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He happened to be rather fond of mackerel as well, yet coffee would always be his first love." Written for the Official Makoharu Festival 2015 - it's posted on their Tumblr page now!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Coffee And Skirts

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”

The man looked up to see a lovely dark-haired lady standing beside him at the entrance to the cafe. Her tall lithe form cast shadows on the pavement from where the lights of the cafe’s sign shone on her.

“Oh no, let me buy you one instead.” It wasn’t every day pretty young women came up to him and offered do buy him coffee – he wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away.

They sat at a table overlooking a window, their drinks sitting in front of them. He found her to be quite well-versed in a wide range of topics, from the economy to politics to current affairs. By the time their cups were empty, he had given her his name card.

It wasn’t until they had separated and he was halfway home that he realized she’d never left her contact details.

In the meantime, a bedroom door was opened and lights were turned on. A handbag was tossed onto the bed as its own sat down in front of the dressing table that sat along one wall. Hair extensions were removed, makeup was taken off, and a scarf was unwound to reveal the Adam’s apple underneath. After a few minutes, Nanase Haruka faced his own reflection in the mirror.

The taste of the coffee from just now was still on his tongue. He’d decided to order a mocha, for it was a specialty of the cafe he’d just visited. The hour before he’d been sipping a cappuccino at a coffeeshop two blocks down, and before that it was a latte at a new franchise outlet across town. He’d gotten in total two name cards and one phone number scrawled on the back of a napkin, but he knew their owners would never receive a call from their companion of that night. He only did it for the caffeine, and nothing more.

Haruka had had an obsession with coffee ever since he was little. He supposed it was a matter of the environment he grew up in; he was raised by his grandmother, who’d run a small but renowned coffee joint herself. She’d once told him how she’d almost gotten married to a fisherman back in her seaside hometown – if she’d walked down that road her grandson might be obsessed with fish instead, she used to joke. He happened to be rather fond of mackerel as well, yet coffee would always be his first love.

He had a rather discerning taste though, so the only places that served the quality of coffee that he deemed acceptable were way out of his financial capabilities as a fresh graduate from college. He had one thing going for him though: his decidedly androgynous looks. He couldn’t say exactly where he’d gotten the idea, but he went and bought the different parts of his outfit online, and was soon chatting up strangers in his new getup.

To be honest though, he was surprised at his success rate. Nearly every man he talked to was more than happy to treat him to a cup, and soon he’d been a patron of nearly every high-end cafe in town at least once. He always headed to a different location once he’d parted ways with a ‘benefactor’, to lessen the chances of being recognized. He could travel over half the entire city in one night, but he didn’t mind as long as he got his caffeine fix.

The next day was a Saturday, and he was wandering around the city leisurely when he happened across a maid cafe. He usually avoided such establishments like the plague, for they put way more emphasis on their staff than their fare, and as a result he always rated their offerings as ‘bland’ at best and ‘downright disgusting’ at worst. This time though, he caught a whiff of freshly roasted coffee beans as the door swung open and a customer came out. The fragrant aroma left his mouth watering, and without further hesitation he entered the cafe.

“Welcome!” cried a waitress in a perky little Lolita maid outfit, which he summarily ignored. Instead, he headed straight for the counter.

“Excuse me.”

The barista turned, and he was faced with a riveting pair of green eyes. “Yes?”

“Um, one tiramisu latte please,” he ordered after glancing at the menu overhead.

As the barista turned back, her frilly skirt swished around her knees. He wondered how she could work all day in such an outfit, especially when it barely seemed to fit her frame. She was quite tall for a girl, that was sure; she even appeared to be taller than him. Maybe she was wearing high heels as part of her costume –  _really_ high heels.

“Here you go, sir.” She set down his drink in front of where he’d sat at the bar that adjoined the counter. He waited until she had turned away again before putting the mug to his lips, and his taste buds were instantly invaded by an infusion of sweetness laced with a slight bitter taste that balanced it out nicely and left a lovely aftertaste in the mouth. His initial impressions of theme cafes were immediately thrown out the window.

“A little less milk would be better though.”

“Is that so?” He looked up to see the barista smiling at him.

 _God, did I say that aloud?_  “Well… I just thought the tiramisu would be better enjoyed if it was allowed to permeate the drink with its flavor more. It’s just my own opinion though.”

“It’s fine. I always worry I add too much milk or sugar to the drinks – I guess it’s because I have a sweet tooth.” The barista scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, a gesture which he found strangely endearing. He also thought her unusually deep voice rather suited her as well.  _Wait, why am I paying so much attention to these details anyway?_

“I’ll take your advice next time though, so thanks,” she was saying.

“You’re welcome. Though to be fair, you should be given credit for making a fine drink.”

“It’s nothing. I only started this job a few months ago, so I suppose you can say I’m still trying to get into my stride. I’m glad you enjoyed the coffee though.”

“I did,” he glanced at her name tag, “Makoto.”

Her smile grew wider at the usage of her name. “Well, business is pretty slow anyway, so since you already know my name, I guess I should know yours as well?”

“I’m Haruka.”

“Nice to meet you, Haruka.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t surprised that I have a feminine name?”

“Not really. In fact I – that is, I know someone who has a girly name too even though he’s a guy, so I don’t think it’s that strange.” She kept brushing a strand of sandy brown hair away from her face as she spoke, repeatedly fixing it back underneath the maid’s hairpiece she wore.

His eyes followed the movements of her fingers. “It must be uncomfortable, having to wear that costume all day at work.”

“Well, this was the only barista job I could get, what with my lack of working experience. It does feel a bit weird having to dress up like this, especially with my physical build and all, but it was worth it to be able to do a job I love.”

“Haven’t you ever considered working in a more renowned cafe someday though?”

“Yeah, I have. There’s actually this cafe close to the heart of the city that I hope to work in someday.”

His eyes widened in recognition of the mention of the cafe’s name. “That one? I’ve heard of it – it’s very popular for its drinks and gourmet pastries.” He didn’t mention that he’d been a customer there a couple of times before – it would seem strange that someone like him could frequent such an upscale place.

That night, he headed to the aforementioned place in another of his dresses. He’d spent the afternoon chatting with the barista, oblivious to the passing of the time, until he looked at his watch and realized he had to leave immediately to catch the bus back to his apartment. It wouldn’t until he was back home that he suddenly remembered he’d never asked for Makoto’s number, nor given his own.  _I guess this must be payback,_ he thought ruefully, thinking of all the name cards and telephone numbers he’d discarded before.

He entered the cafe and took a seat at a table close to the door, where he could see everyone that entered or exited. A waiter came up to him, but he politely refused him by telling him he was waiting for someone. It wasn’t long afterwards that he spied a potential target walking through the front door and to the coat hanger set against a wall. He immediately got up and headed towards the young man.

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” he asked in a voice more high-pitched than his normal tone.

The man turned around, and his eyes widened as they met another familiar pair of green ones.

“Haruka?”

“Ma – makoto?!”

…

He sat with his hands wrapped around his glass. The waiter had raised an eyebrow when he ordered plain water, but it was all he could afford with the money he had with him presently, not counting the amount he’d set aside for his bus fare later. Three hours had passed and yet he still stared listlessly at the only half-empty glass.

Just then, someone slid into the seat across the table, and he looked up to see Makoto sliding a plate with two muffins towards him. “Here. I figured you’d like something to eat after waiting for me for so long.”

Haruka took a muffin and stared at it incredulously. “Did… did you buy these? The cafe’s muffins are very popular… and also very highly-priced.”

“No, the manager said I could take a couple for my girlfriend.”

“Your - ” Haruka’s face went bright red. “Should – shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“Actually, it wouldn’t work that way either. I’m the someone with the feminine name whom I mentioned before.” Makoto was looking anywhere but at Haruka’s face as she –  _he_  spoke. “I… I guess it must be strange, me turning out to be male when I work at a – at a - ”

“… No wonder you said you felt weird wearing that costume.” An image of Makoto as he was now – short hair, Adam’s apple, well-built arms – in his maid outfit from before suddenly emerged in Haruka’s mind, and he burst out laughing. To his surprise, Makoto started laughing with him, and the awkward tension between them was broken.

“So how was the interview?” he asked before biting his muffin and then setting it down.

“It went fine. The manager said I could start work next week, as an apprentice. I’m only working here on Mondays and Wednesdays though, so I’ll still be at the maid cafe the rest of the time.”

“Well, it’s a first step towards dumping the maid getup.”

Makoto laughed again. “I now kinda wish you never saw me in those clothes, though I guess if that was so then we wouldn’t have met at all. I really wanted to get your number, but I was afraid you’d refuse to any more communication with me once you found out my true gender.”

“You mean, you wanted my contact details?”

Makoto grinned. “Well, I have a preference for dark-haired guys.”

“That’s half the male population in Japan.”

“Ah, but few of them would look as good in a dress.” Makoto paused. “I – I know it sounds queer coming from me, but… you’re really beautiful as a girl.”

“I wish I could return the compliment, but I don’t want to lie.”

Makoto laughed again as he took a muffin himself. “Then maybe you should consider taking my place in the maid cafe.”

“No thanks. I only drink coffee, not make it. Oh well, at least I know where to go on Mondays and Wednesdays now.”

“But I’ll be working, so I can’t talk to you then. Unless you can wait until my shift is over?”

“We’ll see. If you can get me another of these muffins for free then I’ll think about it.” It was only then that Haruka noticed the muffin Makoto had just bitten into and fell silent.

“Haruka? What’s wrong?”

“That – that was the muffin I just took a bite of.”

“It is? So then –  _oh_.” Makoto stared at the muffin in his hand as if it had sprouted wings. “It – it’s like - ”

“ – an indirect kiss,” Haruka finished. Then they both went beet red.

“Oh please, get a room.” They looked up to see the manager at the door with a bunch of keys dangling from one hand. “You two lovebirds go finish up somewhere else, I wanna be home before midnight when my carriage turns back into a pumpkin.”

A few hurried apologies later, they were walking down the street together. Haruka glanced repeatedly at Makoto beside him, then at his hand inches away from his own. “Hey, um…”

Makoto looked at him, then smiled in understanding before taking his hand. “There, it’s warmer like this, isn’t it?” He winked conspiratorially.

Haruka smiled as well. “Yeah.” Then as they approached the bus stop he spoke again. “So… you mentioned something about telephone numbers earlier?”

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration for this actually came from a particular entry in my local newspaper's short story column - I got the premise of a coffee lover getting free drinks by manipulating single men to treat her from there. The crossdressing part was my idea though ^^.


End file.
